A Date Which Will Live In Infamy EDITED
by Solarina
Summary: The title speaks for itself. Alfred is devastated by the attack on Pearl Harbor and decides to join the Allied Forces. What will happen when he visits the memorial in our present time? Alfred/Kiku. A two-shot fic. Disclaimer: I own NOTHING here!
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1  
Avenge Pearl Harbor

It was the early morning of December 8, 1941. Alfred walked through the ruined naval base, not believing anything he saw there. Remains of both American and Japanese air crafts could be seen here and there; some men were putting out small fires; the smell of smoke still lingered in the air; and a single tattered American flag waved in the air even with its rips from the bullets.

Alfred fought back the tears he felt welling up in his eyes. He was, somehow, succeeding but he could not fight back the great pain that he felt in his chest. He put a hand over his heart and clutched at the fabric that was there. God, it hurt so bad! He thought for sure that his chest would burst open.

It all had the qualities of a dream. Everything looked fuzzy at some point, voices sounded like far off echoes, and there were moments when time seemed to be moving in slow motion.  
Alfred continued to clutch at the fabric over his heart and began to clench his teeth.  
_  
'This is just a dream… This is just a dream… This is just a dream…'_ he repeated over and over as he made his way to the ruined pier.

But the pier held a much more devastating sight. Alfred could see small rescue boats searching for survivors in the chaos. He could barely hear rescue crews trying to free the ones trapped in the ships. There were still a few ships that were afloat, but badly damaged. Some were even on fire. Most of the ships were underwater with some of their crew still inside. And although Alfred couldn't see from the pier he was standing on, he knew there were hundreds of bodies floating on the water's surface. All of those men just lying there lifelessly.

After taking in all this, he couldn't deny the truth any longer. This was not a dream, it was a nightmare, and it was all real. Another thing Alfred couldn't deny anymore were the tears he had fought back just seconds ago.

"Oh, God!" he sobbed.

He collapsed onto both his knees and could only let the tears run freely down his face. One hand continued to clutch at his heart while the other pressed down on the pier.  
_  
'God, why… why?!'_

All of those men and women… just reporting for duty. Why did this have to happen? He wanted to stay out of the war, goddammit! This was what he wanted to avoid!

_'They didn't have to die. There was no reason to take their lives.'_

Alfred remembered that Japan had sent him medals as tokens of peace. Didn't the Asian country even say so himself that he wanted peace?

Suddenly, as Alfred remembered who the attackers were, anger—no—rage began to replace the sorrow in his heart and his tears became hot.  
_  
'Japan…'_ he thought. '_He did this… He killed all these people… my people!'  
_  
"DAMN IT!" he yelled as he made his free hand into a fist and banged it on the pier.  
_  
'Those statements of peace were all lies then! He was planning this for a long time!'_

Alfred stood up, took off his glasses, quickly wiped his angry tears away with the sleeve of his bomber jacket, and put his glasses back on. Both his hands were now fists at his sides as he looked out at the ruined harbor from the pier.  
_  
'If Japan thinks he's already won the war he's __**dead **__wrong! I'll make him wish he never attacked my people!'_

As Alfred thought of Japan, he began to wonder about the Japanese that lived in his very own country. He knew that Hawaii's population held many Japanese immigrants and their children, who were American born. There were also many Japanese living on the Western side of the mainland, especially in California. Could they be trusted after what happened yesterday? It would have been very easy for Japanese spies to send information to Japan about Pearl Harbor. And didn't some immigrants shun American ways and continued on with their Japanese customs?

_'They can't be trusted. They shouldn't be running around free after what they did.'_

-X-X-X-X-X-X-

"That plan will never work! We'll just end up getting captured!" argued Francis.

"Can't you just agree for once, you git?!" yelled Arthur.

The two nations had been discussing a plan to invade Germany but started arguing just ten minutes into the Allied Forces meeting. Before their arguing could become a fist fight there was a knock on the door. Both Arthur and Francis stopped glaring at each other and gave curious looks to the door. It opened slightly and Alfred slipped into the room.

"Oh, it's you." said Arthur, a frown forming on his lips.

Alfred closed the door.

"What are you doing here? I thought you said that you didn't want to get involved in this war." continued Arthur.

Alfred looked at him straight in the eye. The older nation was surprised at the seriousness he saw in the other's blue eyes, considering his usually happy nature.

"Well, now I do." said Alfred, his tone was equally serious.

Francis lifted a golden eyebrow. "Why the sudden change in attitude?"

Alfred moved his gaze from Arthur to Francis.

"I need to avenge Pearl Harbor." said the young nation.

This caught both older nations by surprise. "What?"

Alfred felt his anger rise slightly. "Japan attacked Pearl Harbor and nearly destroyed everything! You got that?! He bombed me and I want to bomb him back! Hundreds of my people are dead because of him! Do I have to draw a damn picture for you two?!"

The younger nation's outburst left both Arthur and Francis dead silent. They hadn't been shocked like this since Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland.

Arthur was the first to get his head straight again. He took a step toward Alfred and reached out at him but didn't touch him. "Al-Alfred, I didn't know... I'm sorry."

The British man knew the pain the American was going through. His own country was suffering several bombings from the enemy. But Alfred was young and had never experienced anything like this before and his country had never been bombed until now.

"Alfred... many of my own people are dead too." said Arthur. He took a wavering breath and brought down his hand as it started trembling. "I secretly hoped that you wouldn't have to experience the same pain I've been feeling. I didn't want to see you hurt..."

_'Arthur...'_ thought Francis.

The Frenchman was also familiar with Alfred's sorrow. Unfortunately, he was in a much worse state than the other two nations. His capital was now under Ludwig's control and many of his people were dead as well.

"Alfred... I'm so sorry." Arthur repeated. He didn't know what else to say. What else could he say?

"Didn't Japan want to continue peace negotiations with you?" asked Francis, finally finding his voice.

Alfred shook his head. "They were all lies. The attack was planned ahead of time, I could tell."

"He didn't send you a warning or anything?" asked Francis.

"No. It was a surprise attack and it caught the men off guard." answered Alfred.

"Were there any survivors?" asked Arthur.

"Yes, thank God." said Alfred.

Arthur could only slowly nod his head.

Alfred looked at him and Francis. "So, am I one of the Allies or not?"

Arthur put his hand on Alfred's shoulder. "You are."

Suddenly the telephone that was on the meeting table started ringing, causing all three nations to jump slightly. Seeing that he was the closest one to it, Alfred answered it.

"Hello?"

"Yes, is this Alfred F. Jones speaking?" said a familiar dark voice.

The American lifted an eyebrow. "Who is this?"

"Who do you think?"

Alfred recognized the cold tone. "Ludwig?"

"Yes. It's me."

Arthur and Francis, who had been listening to the conversation, gathered around Alfred.

"What do you want? I already got enough problems on my hands." said Alfred in the same cold tone Ludwig was using.

"I just had something very important to tell you. That's all." said Ludwig.

"And what might that be?"

There was at least five seconds of total silence before Ludwig said, "I, Ludwig, and Veneciano declare war on you."

"What?!" all three nations said in unison.

"You heard me." With that, Ludwig hung up and all that could be heard from the phone was a beeping sound.

-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-X-

"So it's been done?" asked Kiku.

Ludwig stood up from his chair and looked at the Japanese man. "Yes."

The three members of the Axis Powers were all in a dim-lighted room. Kiku and Veneciano were sitting on a leather couch and Ludwig had just been sitting in his desk chair.

"The attack was supposed to keep the _Amerikajin(1)_from interfering with my plans of conquering the East Dutch Indies. I'm quite surprised by his actions." said Kiku as he held his katana in his hands.

"It doesn't matter now. All three of us are against him, and that Brit too." said Ludwig.

"That means all three of us are in this together, right Ludwig?" asked Veneciano.

"That's correct, Veneciano. All three of us." answered Ludwig.

* * *

(1)-American

Author's Not: IMPORTANT!!! PLEASE READ IF YOU WANT MORE INFO ON THIS!!! (Most of the following information is from wikipedia. So I don't own it.)

Anyways, I looked through all the Hetalia stories and none were exactly about Pearl Harbor, which we all know, was an important event during WWII. So I decided to go for the challenge. Besides, I wanted to work on something serious (plus I love history).

As every reader should know, the attack on Pearl Harbor took place on December 7, 1941, and was the event that brought the United States into WWII. On December 8, a day after the attack, President Franklin D. Roosevelt asked Congress to declare a state of war on the Empire of Japan. He said that Dec. 7 would be "a date which will live in infamy." The Japanese had planned the attack several weeks prior to the actual attack. It was a surprise attack during a Sunday morning so the US forces were unprepared, but most managed to adapt quickly to the situation. Not only did people at the location get killed, but there were also people who were driving to their jobs so they could help out and nurses too. Some of the ones that were driving to their jobs were shot in their own cars by Japanese planes.

From the information I got, around 3000 American lives were lost and the Japanese only lost 65 (sorry if it's inaccurate but that's what I got).

Phrases like "Remember December 7th(Pearl Harbor)" and "Avenge December 7th" became America's rallying cry and was often seen on military posters and lapel pins.

Also, in Roosevelt's speech he said, "During the intervening time the Japanese Government has deliberately sought to deceive the United Stated by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace." They did send peace medals, but they were returned during the Doolittle Raid. Lt. Col. James H. Doolittle planned and led the air raid, which took place on Japan's main island Honshu. On wikipedia there's a picture of him wiring a Japanese medal to one of the bombs that would be dropped during the raid.

The reason that only Arthur and Francis are at the Allied Forces meeting is because England, France, and Poland were the original Allies at the beginning of the war. However, when Germany and the Soviet Union invaded Poland in 1939, both the UK and France were unprepared to send help to Poland because they didn't think that Germany would actually invade the counrty. So France and the UK declared war on Germany.

During the aftermath of Pearl Harbor, in Europe, Nazi Germany and the Kingdom of Italy subsequently declared war on the United States immediately after they began operations against a fellow axis member, and Adolf Hitler stated in a delivered speech, "The fact that the Japanese Government, which has been negotiating for years with this man [Franklin D. Roosevelt], has at last become tired of being mocked by him in such an unworthy way, fills us all, the German people, and all other decent people in the world, with deep satisfaction... Germany and Italy have been finally compelled, in view of this, and in loyalty to the Tripartite Pact, to carry on the struggle against the U.S.A. and England jointly and side by side with Japan for the defense and thus for the maintenance of the liberty and independence of their nations and empires..."

In 1942, all people with Japanese blood in them were put into internment camps, where they were given poor housing. The internment camps were not like the concentration camps, however. About 110,000 people of Japanese ancestry were removed from the west coast to ten inland camps.

Please no racist or angry comments. Remember, not all Japanese are evil. There's always bad people everywhere, but there are also a good amount of good people in the world too. I am also living proof that not all Japanese are evil because I, myself, am a quarter Japanese. So please... Peace! (And if any of this is inaccurate I am sincerely sorry! Please don't get mad at me -.)  
May all those brave American men and women who died at Pearl Harbor rest in peace.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2  
After the War

It was now the year 2008(1) and this time Alfred was standing before the list of names in the shrine of the USS _Arizona_ Memorial, with a bouquet of white roses in his hand. He walked near the marble wall and laid the bouquet on the steps.

"I hope that you're all at peace." said Alfred, "It's been years since World War II but we still remember you guys."

Even though Alfred managed to avenge Pearl Harbor he still felt some pain in his chest whenever he came to the memorial. The pain wasn't as bad as it was on the Morning of December 8, but that didn't stop him from shedding a few tears as he visited his dead people. He could still see that fateful day very clearly. The sunken ships, the bullet holes in the cars and buildings, men running here and there cleaning up the wreck, and that single tattered American flag that waved in the air.

The memory of Pearl Harbor would always be in his heart because of who he was: America. And the memory would also be engraved into the hearts of his people and their children as they would grow up and learn about it.

Alfred looked at the other flowers that were laid on the steps. A bouquet of red roses from Arthur; one sunflower from Ivan; an iris from Francis; some knapweed from Ludwig; a white lily from Veneciano; a couple of plum blossoms from Wang Yao; and all other sorts of flowers and wreaths from visitors.

Suddenly he heard footsteps coming from behind him. He turned around and was surprised to see…

"Kiku?"

The Japanese man was holding a small sakura tree branch that had many blossoms on it. He walked towards the steps and stood beside Alfred. He turned his body so that he was facing the taller American and slightly lifted the sakura branch so that Alfred could see it better.

"This is from one of my own trees." said Kiku.

He then faced the marble wall and laid the small branch beside Alfred's white roses. The other nation could only stare at the branch.

Come to think of it, he had seen a sakura tree branch on some of his previous visits to the memorial.

"Kiku…" began Alfred.

"Hmm?" the Japanese man faced him.

"All those cherry blossom branches… That was you who left them there?" asked Alfred.

To Kiku, it sounded more like a statement rather than a question. "Yes. I have come here before."

"But isn't it too much for you?"

Kiku stayed silent and walked out of the shrine and into the assembly room of the memorial. Alfred followed him. The smaller man walked towards one of the large open windows at the side and leaned on it. Alfred joined him. Both were staring down at the remains of the USS _Arizona_.

Finally Kiku spoke, "It is true that I planned the attack for some time and that because of it you entered the war so you could avenge your people. Yet I come here just to leave an offering for the dead."

He pointed at the oil that was seeping from the ship. "See, even the _Arizona_ sheds tears because of my crime."(2)

Alfred looked at the oil. As he did, Kiku stopped leaning on the window and headed for the exit. Alfred noticed this.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

Kiku stopped walking but he kept his back facing Alfred. "Home."

"But you just got here."

"Yes, but I feel nervous when I am with you in this place. If I was alone I would stay a little longer here."

Alfred didn't ask why he felt nervous around him because he already knew the answer.

In order to end the war, he had decided to drop an atomic bomb on the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The first bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. Kiku was shaken and devastated by the bombing but he still refused to surrender. So the second atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki three days later. This finally brought Kiku more than he could handle. Most of his civilians were dead or badly hurt and two of his cities were ruined. It was then that Kiku felt the same pain Alfred felt when he attacked Pearl Harbor. His chest felt like it was splitting apart, he couldn't see well through his flowing tears, and he just couldn't believe what had happened to him. In the beginning he felt so powerful as he attacked his older siblings and when he attacked Alfred's country. When Ludwig and Veneciano surrendered to the Allies he went his own way. His two friends tried to stop him and told him that it was over.

"No. It's over for you two. For me, this is only the beginning." Kiku had said to them.

He left them and believed that he could defeat the Allies by himself. His people were willing to die for him and the emperor. With that kind of loyalty, how could he possibly loose? The answer was a nation that would not rest until it defeated him and finally ended the war... a nation that wanted to avenge his people.

Alfred would never forget how he stood among the ruins of Nagasaki waiting for Kiku to show up and finally surrender. The Japanese man finally appeared six days after the Nagasaki bombing(3). His white imperial uniform was tattered and torn; he looked more skinnier than usual; his raven hair was messed up; and he stumbled a few times as he walked towards him. When Kiku got closer, Alfred saw the tears in his eyes but for some reason he was unaffected by this pitiful sight. It was pitiful because the once great warrior was now a fallen and broken man. Even so, Alfred felt nothing at the time but anger.

Despite not being himself at the time, Alfred still remembered how Kiku fell onto his knees in front of him and bowed until his forehead touched the dirt.

"I surrender." he said, his voice sounded so weak. "No more. Please, no more."

Alfred had remained quiet as he reached for his handgun and pointed it at Kiku. The smaller man looked up and his eyes widened at the sight of the firearm and his body started trembling uncontrollably.

"Say that louder." ordered Alfred.

"I surrender."

"To who?"

"I surrender to the Allied Powers."

Alfred smirked. "Good."

He pulled the trigger and the next second Kiku was lying on his side clutching a hand at his bloody shoulder where the bullet went through completely. Alfred could see the bullet lying a few inches away from Kiku.

During the year after the war, thousands of Alfred's soldiers occupied Kiku's land.

After all that, it was no wonder Kiku was nervous to be in Alfred's presence.

The blond walked over to where the raven-haired man was and put a hand on his shoulder. The action caused Kiku to jump slightly.

"Kiku, I..." began Alfred.

But Kiku struggled out of his grasp and started walking faster toward the exit of the memorial.

Alfred caught up with him before he could walk out and what he did next was a surprise for both of them. He just embraced Kiku from behind and didn't let go. Alfred didn't know why he did it, his arms just wrapped themselves around the smaller frame and refused to let go. Kiku stood there frozen until his mind caught up to what was happening. He struggled to loosen Alfred's grasp and was having no luck. As he struggled the taller man caught a brief sight of his bare shoulder. There, he saw where the bullet had gone through on that fateful day.

"Leave me!" shouted Kiku.

Alfred let go, not because of Kiku's command, but of shock from seeing the wound he had afflicted on him.

He did not go after Kiku as he ran out of the memorial, even though he wanted too.  
Even though he wanted to get a better, longer look at that wound.  
Even though he wanted to say something comforting to him.

Alfred now stood in the USS _Arizona_ Memorial alone. He looked behind him and started walking back to the shrine. Again he looked at what was there, laid on the steps before the marble wall. Only this time he just looked at the ones that stood out.

A bouquet of red roses from Arthur; a sunflower from Ivan; an iris from Francis; some knapweed from Ludwig; a white lily from Veneciano; a couple of plum blossoms from Wang Yao; his own bouquet of white roses; and a sakura tree branch from Kiku's own garden.

Alfred walked toward the steps and squatted down beside Kiku's offering. He reached out his hand and took one single blossom from it. Just one.

It felt so fragile and it looked so beautiful in the bright sunlight. Just like Kiku himself.

Alfred still had that single cherry blossom with him even as he left the memorial.

Later that day he still had it with him on his nightstand beside his glasses as he fell asleep in his bed.

* * *

(1) I know it's 2009, but I chose 2008 because I went to the USS Arizona Memorial with my family that year in August. So I just wanted to use the year I went so I could picture it better.  
(2) The oil that seeps out of the _Arizona_ is sometimes referred to as "tears of the_ Arizona_."  
(3) Six days after the Nagasaki bombing (August 9), Japan announced its surrender to the Allied Powers (August 15).  
I don't think anyone's ever left a sakura tree branch at the memorial, but I just used that since it's a famous flower in Japan and for symbolism. MOST of the flowers that the other characters left are their national flowers, but some are not.  
Yes, it's true, many people from Japan and Japanese-Americans visit Pearl Harbor. I've seen them myself and I know that they must leave something for the shrine every now and then.  
-HISTORICAL FACTS-  
The USS _Arizona_ was one of the battleships that was sunk during the attack. As she sunk, she took most of her crewmen with her. Their souls are still entombed there to this very day. In the memorial there are several open windows so that visitors can look outside and see the remains of the ship. The memorial floats above the actual wreckage of the ship. The memorial gets visitors from all around the world every year.  
The shrine is at the very end of the memorial and holds the marble wall with all the people's names on it. People leave flowers and wreaths on the steps since they aren't allowed to go up right next to the wall. The assembly room is the middle of the memorial and is also where all the windows are.  
Kiku feeling uncomfortable around Alfred is a small symbol of his bitterness because of the atomic bombings and also his fear.  
During the year after the atomic bombings about 40,000 U.S. occupation troops were in Hiroshima and about 27,000 were in Nagasaki.

AUTHOR'S COMMENTS: I support Alfred/Kiku PERIOD (it needs more love!!XD). Reviews, pretty please. Be nice, it's my first Hetalia fic and serious fic. (Sorry if I made it too preachyT-T)

Thank you for your time reading and reviewing.


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